Fact Check: Notorious BitConnect Promoter Did Not Call Bitcoin A "Scam"

Fact Check: Notorious BitConnect Promoter Did Not Call Bitcoin A

  • Carlos Matos, a motivational speaker who turned into a meme, did not recently say Bitcoin is a "scam."
  • The tweet which led many news outlets to report that Matos called Bitcoin a scam likely came from a "parody account."

A Twitter account some associated with notorious BitConnect promotor Carlos Matos has recently claimed that bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, is a "scam." The tweet was initially controversial but soon after Mashable revealed it came from a "parody account," and not from Matos himself.

The tweet reads: “Bitcoin is a scam. Sell everything. It’s NEVER going back up.” What made the tweet seem surprising or ironic is that Matos himself is now infamous for promoting what’s considered to be one of, if not the largest, scams orchestrated in the crypto space.

Bitcoin Is A Scam. Sell Everything It's NEVER Going Back Up— Carlos Matos (@CarlosMatos80) October 26, 2018

Although the tweet might not have come from Matos, it served as a reminder that the controversial motivational speaker was “launched into meme infamy” in October 2017. This, soon after a video of Matos became viral in which he was praising BitConnect and trying to hype up an audience.

As most crypto enthusiasts would know, BitConnect was heavily promoted as a crypto lending and exchange service. However, the platform was forced to shut down in January of this year after it received cease and desist letters from regulators in the United States. After it shut down, many unsuspecting investors discovered that it was nothing more than an elaborate scam.

Notably, Matos’ motivational speech was delivered in 2016 to a crowd in Thailand - which is well before cryptocurrency prices skyrocketed in late 2017. The price of BitConnect’s BCC token hit an all-time high of around $437 before crashing to $0.67 according to CryptoCompare data.

An Internet Meme

After becoming a popular internet joke, which saw Matos’ emotional procolomations of “I love BitConnect” turned into many different remixed videos, the New York resident has now been ridiculed by many talk show hosts.

In March of 2018, John Oliver, an English comedian and writer said jokingly during his “Last Week Tonight” show that “the last time he saw someone that irrationally exuberant [as Matos] about a major commitment, he was roughly seven years away from divorcing Katie Holmes” - an acclaimed American actress whose 6-year marriage to Tom Cruise received great attention from media.

While many people now find humor in what Matos and other seemingly passionate BitConnect promoters did to lure unsuspecting investors, the serious nature of their allegedly criminal actions should serve as a warning to those looking to “get rich quick.” Doing proper research and evaluating the legitimacy of a project before making an investment is the best course of action for long-term financial stability.

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